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Tamyra Gray
Tamyra Monica Gray (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition ''American Idol'' in 2002. Post ''American Idol'', Gray has begun acting on Broadway and television. She had a recurring role on the third season of the drama series ''Boston Public'' in early 2003. Personal life Gray was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, and later moved to Norcross, Georgia. She graduated from Stone Mountain High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 1997. She began singing at an early age. She competed in several beauty pageants and was named Miss Atlanta in 1998. Gray attended Georgia State University, majoring in business law and entertainment management. Prior to ''American Idol'', she worked a variety of jobs including daycare worker, party motivator, telemarketer, waitress, and running her own cleaning service. She also filmed Coca-Cola commercials and worked with artists like her friend Lisa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone. A planned commuter suburb, it is situated along the Metropolitan Subdivision, Metropolitan Branch of the historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, just northeast of Washington, D.C., and it shares a border and history with the adjacent Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Takoma (Washington, D.C.), Takoma. It is governed by an elected mayor and six elected councilmembers, who form the city council, and an appointed city manager, under a Council-manager government, council-manager style of government. The city's population was 17,629 at the 2020 United States census. Since 2013, residents of Takoma Park can vote in municipal election#United States, municipal elections when they turn sixteen. It wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sam Watters
Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as ''American Idol'' winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello. Music career Color Me Badd Watters formed what later would be known as the R&B singing group Color Me Badd in high school along with fellow members Mark Calderon, Kevin Thornton, and Bryan Abrams. After forming, the group was soon discovered by Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool and the Gang fame. Bell introduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 for her performance of the ''Porgy and Bess'' standard " Summertime" during the third season of ''American Idol'', and eventually became that season's winner. Following her victory, Barrino became the second artist after Lauryn Hill to have a debut single enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number one, when her song " I Believe" launched atop the chart. It went on to become the best-selling single in the United States that year. Barrino's debut album '' Free Yourself'' (2004), was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album garnered three Grammy Award nominations, including Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for her recording of "Summertime". She went on to release the hit single " When I See U", from her eponymous second album (2006), recorded the duet " Put You Up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
I Believe (Fantasia Song)
"I Believe" is the debut single of ''American Idol'' third season winner Fantasia. The song was co-written by Louis Biancaniello, Sam Watters, and former ''American Idol'' contestant Tamyra Gray. Released in the United States on June 15, 2004, "I Believe" debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 142,000 copies during its first week and winning three ''Billboard'' awards. The song also reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart and number four on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart. It was included on Fantasia's debut album, '' Free Yourself'', released on November 23, 2004. Background Fantasia sang "I Believe" on the third-season finale of ''American Idol'' as her last performance within the competition. Diana DeGarmo, the runner up of ''American Idol'', sang the song first on the finale, for her first performance of the night. The judges unanimously acclaimed Fantasia the winner, a prediction that came true when she was crowned the following evenin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fox Corporation's corporate headquarters at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it hosts additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and at the Fox Media Center in Tempe, Arizona. The channel was launched by News Corporation on October 9, 1986 as a competitor to the Big Three (American television), Big Three television networks, which are the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the CBS, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and the NBC, National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network; it was also the highest-Nielsen ratings, rated free-to-air netwo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ruben Studdard
Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of " Superstar". In the years following ''Idol'', Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, '' Soulful'', and the top-selling gospel follow-up, '' I Need an Angel''. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including " Flying Without Wings", " Sorry 2004", and " Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of '' Ain't Misbehavin''',Ruben Studdard tou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in North American cinema. ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' The song was written in 1943 for the film ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', for which MGM had hired Martin and Blane to write several songs. Martin was vacationing in a house in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama, that his father Hugh Martin had designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage, located just down the street from his birthplace, and which later became the home of Martin and his family in 1923. The song first appeared in a scene in which a family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Silent Night (song)
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is one of the most recorded Christmas songs, with more than 137,000 known recordings. History "" was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818, at the Nikolauskirche, Oberndorf, Nikolauskirche, the parish church of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, he had written the poem "" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Tamsweg District, Lungau region, where Joseph h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK'' (2004–2010; 2014–2018), and ''Britain's Got Talent'' (2007–present), as well as the American television talent competition shows ''American Idol'' (2002–2010), ''The X Factor (American TV series), The X Factor US'' (2011–2013), and ''America's Got Talent'' (2016–present). Cowell founded the British entertainment company Syco Entertainment in 2005, as well as its defunct predecessor, Syco Music (also known as S Records) in 2002. After some success in the 1980s and 1990s as a record producer, talent agent and consultant in the British music industry, Cowell came to public prominence in 2001 as a judge on ''Pop Idol'', a television show which he and its creator Simon Fuller successfully pitched to ITV (TV network), ITV Controll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
A House Is Not A Home (song)
"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 ballad written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Shelley Winters and Robert Taylor. The song was recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and was a modest hit in the United States for the singer, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, " You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)". Another version of the song, by Brook Benton, which was the version that appeared in the film, was released at nearly the same time. It debuted two weeks earlier on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Benton's version split airplay with Warwick's, and ultimately peaked at #75. Warwick's version of "A House Is Not a Home" fared better in Canada, where it was a top 40 hit, peaking at #37. The ballad made the R&B top 10 in Cashbox by both Warwick and Benton, with neither artist specified as best seller. Despite its modest initial success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Starting in the 1950s, he composed hundreds of pop songs, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions and time signature changes, influenced by his background in jazz, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. He arranged, conducted, and produced much of his recorded output. More than 1,000 different artists have recorded Bacharach's songs. From 1961 to 1972, most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick, but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels, and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The print magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City, and ceased publication in 2022. Different from celebrity-focused publications such as ''Us Weekly'', ''People (magazine), People'' (a sister magazine to ''EW''), and ''In Touch Weekly'', ''EW'' primarily concentrates on entertainment media news and critical reviews; unlike ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', which were primarily established as trade magazines aimed at industry insiders, ''EW'' targets a more general audience. History Formed as a sister magazine to ''People'', the first issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' was published on February 16, 1990. Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who serve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
